This invention generally relates to a system for acquiring and storing information and storing this information in a single portable storage device. More specifically, but not by way of limitation, the system provides a display for displaying identification information carried on the storage device, a biometric identification device, a data processor, and a telecommunications port or communication device.
There are many known devices or systems that allow the identification and tracking of information relating to an individual. A well known example of such systems includes the use of an identification card that includes a photograph and a magnetic machine readable stripe. These systems have gained considerable popularity because of their low cost and ease of use. The limitations of these systems, however, has left important un-met needs in terms of security, reliability and versatility.
More specifically, cards that include an individual's picture or facsimile, suffer from the limitation that the picture can be altered with relative ease. Additionally, the wide use of these systems, which rely on somewhat antiquated printing and reproduction techniques, has made the complete falsification or creation of false identity cards possible for individuals with modest technical training. Thus the problem of identity falsification by way of these systems persists.
Still further, the use of magnetic strips or magnetically encodeable portions in identification systems, relies on cards that are susceptible to inadvertent erasure of the cards by exposure to a strong magnetic field, as may be found on a cashier's counter, a speaker, or other commonly used tools or devices. Thus the reliability or effectiveness of these systems is susceptible to destruction or alteration with common tools or devices.
Still further, magnetically encoded identification cards suffer from the limitation that they can only hold a limited amount of information. Thus, magnetically encoded cards may include identification codes which may be used as a key for comparison with an access code that is manually entered or provided by the user. Thus, these devices can offer only limited identification verification since the amount of information that can be stored as a key is also very limited. This limitation often allows thieves to simply spy on the user as he or she enters the key or verification information to gain access to all of the information needed to duplicate the access card.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label.